This invention relates in general to land vehicles and more particularly to railway vehicles.
A railway vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1, may include a railcar 10 having a body 14 and wheels 16 for supporting the railcar 10 for movement along rails. The railcar 10 is largely used for hauling. A plurality of railcars 10 may be coupled together to form a train, which may be hauled by a locomotive. Handholds 18 in a ladder rung arrangement may be mounted on the side of the body 14 near a corner of the body 14. A sill step or stirrup 20 may be mounted to the corner of the railcar 10 just beneath the body 14 and inward of the handholds 18. The handholds 18 may be provided for a rail worker to grip while ascending or descending the stirrup 20. The stirrup 20 maybe in the form of a U-shaped structure formed from substantially flat metal stock and having a lower step member and a leg extending upwardly from opposing ends of the step member. A rail worker may stand on the stirrup 20 and hold onto a handhold 18 as the railcar 10 is transported around a rail yard. The rail worker when standing on the stirrup 20 must lean outward at an angle because the stirrup 20 is mounted inward of the railcar 10.